Fictional Genealogy

Many invented and fictional people have been inserted into genealogical collections, generally as part of an attempt to fill in the blanks, but also to connect cultures and justify claims to an ancient history.
Profiles for invented and fictional people often become battleground among genealogists.

Purpose

This project collects and identifies people for whom no historical evidence exists.

Categories

• Arthurian Fiction - people who are medieval inventions from the many stories of Arthurian romance.
• Early Flemish Genealogy - medieval fictions in in Flanders and surrounding areas.
• Early Frisian Genealogy - medieval fictions in Holland and surrounding areas.
• Frankish Fiction - people who are the invention of medieval Frankish chronicles.
• Greek Mythology - characters from Greek mythology. These will often, but not always, overlap Roman mythology.
• Irish Fiction - characters from Irish mythology, including the Lebor Gabála Érenn.
• Mabinogion
• Modern Fiction - people who appear to have been invented in the 19th and 20th centuries, including those invented by genealogical forgers and con men.
• Norse Mythology - characters from Norse (Scandinavian) mythology.
• Odin's Kin - descents from the Norse and Germanic god Odin or Woden.
• Roman Mythology - characters from Rome mythology. These will often, but not always, overlap Greek mythology.
• Shakespeare's History - genealogy in William Shakespeare's plays.
  • Macbeth - Historical Context of Shakespeare's Play
• Welsh Mythology - characters from Welsh mythology.

'To add additional projects, contact one of the project collaborators.'

Sources

• James Anderson, Royal Genealogies, Or the Genealogical Tables of Emperors, Kings and Princes, from Adam to these times (1732). Anderson collected and published many of the royal genealogies circulating in the early 18th century, at a time when the age of genealogical invention was closing. Therefore, his collection has become a snapshot of fictitious genealogies at their peak. Further, he is the original source for much of the information that entered the European genealogical tradition and ultimately spread across the Internet. It can be used to identify the common version of genealogical fictions.
• Charles Cawley, Medieval Lands: A prosopography of medieval European noble and royal families. "Medlands" is an online database that documents European royal and noble genealogy from primary sources. It can be used to separate fact from fiction in medieval genealogy.